Written by Teresa Knudsen. First published on Suite 101 January 11, 2010.
Republished January 11, 2012 on Sweet Suite Writings
Body Scanners, From Airports to Football Games
On Christmas Day, 2009, a passenger on Northwest Flight 253 was charged with trying to blow up an airliner, traveling the Netherlands to Detroit. According to reports, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab concealed an explosive, PETN, or pentaerythritol, also used by the "shoe bomber" Richard Reid, and tried to blow up the plane.
Reports indicate that in November 2009, the man's father tried to warn the Nigerian US embassy of his son's religious beliefs, but that the warning was ignored. In addition, although Abdulmutallab's name was in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, people on the list are not stopped from taking a plane to the United States.
The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration, with the Obama administration and Congress, is working to compel all airline travelers to undergo full-body scans, which might or might not reveal explosives such as PETN, but which would reveal a person's body unclothed in complete detail resulting in pornography, and which would give dangerous radiation to travelers.
"The TSA has tested two technologies, including "millimeter wave" (MMW) technology which bounces radio-frequency waves off people to construct a 3-D image within a few seconds. TSA also temporarily leased four "backscatter" units which use X-ray scanning, although the MMW method is currently faster."
In the article, the senior editor of Aviation Week, Andrew Compart, explained that the 45 second scan per passenger will create hours of delays for air travelers. In additon, Compart believes that better intelligence-gathering is a more effective tool for anti-terrorism than body scanning.
Some in Congress agree. As reported by John Hayes in the Chicago Tribune, Representative Jason Chhaffetz, R-Utah, stated on January 8, 2010:
“We don’t need to look at naked 8-year-olds and grandmothers to secure airplanes. Are we really going to subject 2 million people per day to that? I think it’s a false argument to say we have to give up all of our personal privacy in order to have security.”
The discussion will continue. Besides airports, government and business have plans to expand the use of body scanners to public gatherings, such as sports events, and to general body scanning on the street, by mobile vehicles, or even scanners on lamp posts. The Dutch police are working on a mobile scanner, for mass scans of crowds. British security are working on street scanning.
For further discussion, see "Britain Requires Air Passengers to be Scanned."
Reports indicate that in November 2009, the man's father tried to warn the Nigerian US embassy of his son's religious beliefs, but that the warning was ignored. In addition, although Abdulmutallab's name was in the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment, people on the list are not stopped from taking a plane to the United States.
The U.S. Transportation Safety Administration, with the Obama administration and Congress, is working to compel all airline travelers to undergo full-body scans, which might or might not reveal explosives such as PETN, but which would reveal a person's body unclothed in complete detail resulting in pornography, and which would give dangerous radiation to travelers.
Body Scanners
There are two general types of scanners, as explained by Jeremy Hsu in his April 1, 2009 article "Airport Body Scanners Reveal All.""The TSA has tested two technologies, including "millimeter wave" (MMW) technology which bounces radio-frequency waves off people to construct a 3-D image within a few seconds. TSA also temporarily leased four "backscatter" units which use X-ray scanning, although the MMW method is currently faster."
Practical Issues
There is concern that not only will the body scanners cause further delays at airports, but also that the body scanners are not an effective counter-terrorism tool, according to Mark Guarino's recent article in the Christian Science Monitor.In the article, the senior editor of Aviation Week, Andrew Compart, explained that the 45 second scan per passenger will create hours of delays for air travelers. In additon, Compart believes that better intelligence-gathering is a more effective tool for anti-terrorism than body scanning.
Some in Congress agree. As reported by John Hayes in the Chicago Tribune, Representative Jason Chhaffetz, R-Utah, stated on January 8, 2010:
“We don’t need to look at naked 8-year-olds and grandmothers to secure airplanes. Are we really going to subject 2 million people per day to that? I think it’s a false argument to say we have to give up all of our personal privacy in order to have security.”
The discussion will continue. Besides airports, government and business have plans to expand the use of body scanners to public gatherings, such as sports events, and to general body scanning on the street, by mobile vehicles, or even scanners on lamp posts. The Dutch police are working on a mobile scanner, for mass scans of crowds. British security are working on street scanning.
For further discussion, see "Britain Requires Air Passengers to be Scanned."
References
- American Civil Liberties Union. "Body Scanners." March 15, 2002.
- The Bill of Rights. National Archives Records Administration.
- Benen, Steve. "Michael Chertoff's Pushing 'Full-Body Scanner for Airports but He Has a Conflict of Interest." Washington Monthly. January 2, 2010.
- Chertoff, Michael. "Former Homeland Security Chief Argues for Whole-Body Imaging." The Washington Post, January 1, 2010.
- Foehammer. "Body Scanners. Do Not Submit." January 6, 2010.
- Guarino, Mark. "Airport Security: Two Alternatives to Full-body Scanners." The Christian Science Monitor, December 31, 2009.
- Hayes, John C. "Privacy Activists Score Victories against More Detailed Body Scanners at Airports." Chicago Tribune. Sunday, January 10th, 2010.
- Hsu, Jeremy. "Airport Body Scanners Reveal All." LiveScience, April 1, 2009.
- Savage, David. "Privacy Activists Score Victories Against More Detailed Body Scanners at Airports." Chicago Tribune, January 10, 2010.
- Warren, Scott. "Full-body Airport Scanners Face Further Delays..." January 5, 2010.
- Watson, Paul Joseph. "Now Mobile Devices Will Scan on the Street." Friday, January 8, 2010.
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